noryang battle site (노량 해전)
News of Hideyoshi’s death in 1598 spread like wildfire amongst the Japanese troops ordered to the Korean Peninsula for the past six years. Each of the daimyos wanted to get back to their domains as quickly as possible. Both to reunite with family and loved ones again, but also to hedge against the incessant violence that existed prior to Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi’s attempt to unify Japan. It was the end of the Warring States Period—the Sengoku Jidai—after all. Preparations were made everywhere to return to Japan, carrying as much loot as possible.
Admiral Yi, having routed the Japanese at Myeongyang the previous year and then assisted with the siege of Suncheon in October, had sworn to kill any Japanese who put to sea. Despite the urging of his Ming Chinese allies to let the invaders go home, Yi was adamant—they must pay for what they’d done to Joseon. Thus, upon hearing from intelligence reports the Japanese planned to evacuate, he positioned his fleet between Sacheon and Suncheon Castles. The latter commanded by Konishi Yukinaga, who’d led the invasion six years prior.
Attempting to assist Konishi, Shimazu Yoshihiro and several other daimyo set sail from Sacheon to relieve the pressure. Yi met them on the west side of Noryang and a vicious battle ensued, lasting well into the night. Of the 500 ships engaged on the Japanese side—200 of them likely troopships—Yi’s combined Ming-Joseon fleet destroyed 200 and captured another 100, resulting in untold numbers of Japanese dead. The great admiral himself did not survive the engagement, having been struck and killed by a spent arquebus bullet.
The movie “Noryang”—third in the Yi Sun-sin trilogy—is due out in December…can’t wait!
Arriving before the Yi Sun-sin Visual Experience Center opened, we hiked up and out along the peninsula leading to Cheummangdae Pavilion.
Didn’t realize till we were upon it we’d find a secluded memorial to Admiral Yi.
While most places around were devoid of color this late in the fall, we found brilliant examples of maple trees all along this peninsula.
Memorial stone honoring Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s death at Noryang lies safely within.
Path leading to Cheommangdae Pavilion overlooking the battle site.
A decent map posted outside the pavilion showing the movements which led to the Battle of Noryang.
Cheommangdae Pavilion, overlooking Noryang.
I’ve been in hundreds of pavilions and gatehouses, but never before seen dragon heads worked into the cross-bar supports.
View of Noryang from the pavilion.
The foliage gets thicker as you view toward the right, obscuring most of the eastern end of the battle site.
A poorly pieced together panorama of where the Battle of Noryang took place. Note the top of the white bridge just visible over the tree line to the right…that’s the actual strait, and its quite narrow. Shimazu’s fleet proceeded through there out into the open where Yi’s fleet was positioned to attack them as they emerged. Suncheon Castle isn’t visible from here given all the land reclamation and industrialization of the area. But in 1598 the castle’s tall tenshu would have been visible from this location, a few kilometers beyond where the first island mass meets the water along the left edge of this photo. These pics were taken from a fishing pier facing the site as the trees were just too thick to get a good view from the pavilion up on the hill.
The Yi Sun-sin memorial hall is built in the shape of a Turtle Ship. There are a few exhibits inside—including a nice diorama—but the reason to stop by is the film on Noryang. A very nicely done dramatization; more like a modern movie than a dry documentary. Definitely worth stopping by.
Some of the dioramas were nice.
Hwacha, hand-cart mounted multiple rocket launcher.
Crossbow of the type used during the period.
Joseon naval attire.
Ming Chinese naval attire.
Japanese attire.
At low tide, many of the natural harbors are nothing but mud, true most places along the southern and western coasts of Korea.
To give some impression of the winds that morning, these are miniature waves being driven to shore. We visited on 24 November…can’t imagine fighting in that wind—and potentially being cast overboard into the icy waters—in December.
A bit fast to be a useful pan of the battle area, but it does give an impression of the winds and just how large an area this is.